John Clifford "Cliff" Garrett founded the Aircraft Tool and Supply Company in Los Angeles in 1936. The company changed its name to Garrett Corporation in 1938, consolidating several companies into one with three divisions. During World War II, the company produced aircraft turbochargers, as well as avionics and environmental controls. In the 1950s, Garrett expanded into municipal applications, with turbochargers used in sewage purification operations, and by 1952, 20,000 turbocharged engines were in use in the US.
On September 27, 1954, Garrett separated the turbocharger group from the gas turbine group to form the AiResearch Industrial Division (AID), in order to explore applications of turbochargers for diesel engines. The first T-15 Turbocharger was delivered to the Caterpillar Company in 1955, followed by an order for 5,000 production units for installation in the Caterpillar D9 tractor. The industrial division produced turbochargers for construction machinery, railroad locomotives, tractors, ships, power plants and oil pipeline pumping stations. The T11 automotive turbocharger, developed in 1960, expanded the use of turbos to commercial vehicles such as those produced by Mack Trucks, Volvo and Scania.
The first turbocharged passenger cars, the Chevrolet Corvair Monza and the Oldsmobile Jetfire, appeared in 1962/1963. In the 1960s, turbochargers gained an association with racing culture and auto-enthusiasts through their use in race-cars and sports cars. Following the death of company founder Cliff Garrett in 1963, the company faced a hostile takeover threat from Curtiss-Wright Corporation, which was avoided by a merger with Signal Oil and Gas Company in 1964. The combined company became The Signal Companies in 1968, before merging with Allied Corporation to become Allied-Signal Inc. The oil crisis of the 1970s led to increased pressure from federal regulators on car manufacturers to reduce exhaust emissions. By 1977, manufacturers introduced turbocharged cars in the US and Europe, including the Buick Regal and Saab models. By 1980, Garrett formed the automotive group, and by the mid-1980s, over 100 turbocharged models were available.
In 1999, Allied-Signal acquired Honeywell International Inc. and adopted the Honeywell name. In 2018, Garrett Motion Inc. became an independent publicly traded company through a distribution of shares to Honeywell stockholders. On September 21, 2020, Garrett announced its intention to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and be acquired by KPS Capital Partners. In April 2021, Garrett emerged from Chapter 11, completing a restructuring process and raising $1.3 billion in equity.
Garrett offers wastegate turbochargers designed to be smaller and more fuel-efficient than previous generations. They also offer Variable-geometry turbochargers (VNT) with moveable vanes and electrohydraulic actuators for variable control throughout the engine's power curve. Forty million VNT turbochargers have been sold since the 1990s. Garrett also patented a single-cartridge, dual ball bearing technology, which uses a single sleeve system with angular ball bearings to reduce pressure required for airflow.
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